Alan could hardly believe what had just happened. Had he really scored an anti-magic longsword worth two hundred thousand gold coins for free?
At first, he thought he had fallen under an illusion, until the sword's edge cut his finger; the sharp sting made Alan realize this was unquestionably real.
No paladin could fail to love such a sword—it was far superior to the standard-issue blade Alan had received during his service in the military.
Alan could not wait to swing the blade, carefully feeling out the weapon's center of gravity and other fine details.
After getting a feel for it for quite some time, he finally grew accustomed to the grip.
Just then, Gareth returned. The Headless Horseman crooked a finger at Alan and said, "A new weapon only handles well through real combat. Come on, I'll help you."
Having shed his armor as before, Gareth was no longer bare-handed; in his grip was a saber wrapped in swirling black flames.
Gareth twirled the blade and said to Alan, "Come at me. It has been a long time since I found a decent opponent."
The saber blurred into an afterimage, cleaving toward Alan. In Alan's eyes, the sheer momentum of Gareth's strike felt like a giant dragon descending from the heavens to tear him completely to shreds.
The ferocious might left Alan stunned. In their previous exchange, the Headless Horseman had merely been playing around with a child!
Yet Alan did not panic. Shifting the angle of his blade, he met Gareth's saber head-on.
The fight in the woods was not intense. Both held back their strength, engaging in a pure contest of martial technique.
Anbaixiu did not care in the slightest. Gareth had probably gone too long without fighting a legend and was practically bursting at the seams. Having finally run into Alan, he was willing to rein in most of his power just to have a good match.
Anbaixiu was confident Gareth would not kill Alan. As long as the boy didn't die, it didn't matter.
Leaving the woods behind, Anbaixiu led Melina toward the mayor's residence in Yun Town.
Now that the nuisance was handled, it was time to fulfill his primary objective.
He would sell the Drow Race divine portfolio to the elves, hopefully in exchange for the Elven Gods' protection so Anbaixiu could safely ascend to godhood.
Presumably the Elven King had issued instructions beforehand, because the moment Anbaixiu stated his identity, the elven mayor jumped in surprise and hurriedly promised to relay word of Anbaixiu's visit up the hierarchy immediately.
Such deferential respect only heightened Melina's admiration for her father.
In the entire world, he was probably the only undead who could command such politeness from the elves.
Anbaixiu was escorted to a quiet, elegant little garden. After waiting for roughly two hours, he finally saw Catherine.
The former Elven Queen remained as breathtakingly enchanting as ever. Even in far plainer attire, she could still stir the heart of an undead.
The silly girl Melina stared wide-eyed, unable to resist blurting out, "What a beautiful person!"
Catherine had heard countless praises throughout her life, so she replied with effortless grace, "You are very pretty as well. I am Catherine. What is your name?"
"I... my name is Melina."
"What a lovely name."
Catherine took Melina by the hand and sat beside Anbaixiu with her. That gentle touch completely short-circuited Melina's ability to think, and the golden eyes capable of seeing through all concealment began to turn pink.
Melina turned to Anbaixiu. "Father, this big sister is so pretty!"
Anbaixiu said helplessly, "I know."
When it came to personal emotions, Melina was hardly like an ordinary undead. She was rather sentimental and would get depressed over feeling foolish. Faced with Catherine's indiscriminately overpowering charm, her resistance was far weaker than Anbaixiu's.
Yet Melina's next words frightened Anbaixiu out of his wits.
Melina exclaimed excitedly, "Father, I want to marry her!"
"Huh?!"
"What?!"
The two startled gasps came from Anbaixiu and Catherine respectively. Anbaixiu was horrified by Melina's outrageous declaration—how dared she utter something so absurd? If the Elven King caught wind of this, he would declare war on the Underdark in a heartbeat!
Catherine, however, was not shocked by Melina's proposal. Throughout her life, countless suitors of both sexes had confessed to her; even the close female friends she grew up with had lost their composure around her multiple times. Such things could hardly faze her. What truly astounded her was that Melina addressed Anbaixiu as 'Father.'
Good heavens, liches could have children now?
Anbaixiu hurriedly said to Melina, "Silly child, you've been charmed. Close your eyes and calm down."
Melina hesitated, but obediently shut her eyes as Anbaixiu instructed, forcing herself to regain her composure. Her undead nature finally gained the upper hand, and Melina realized what preposterous words she had just spoken. Suddenly, she didn't know where to put her hands.
Fortunately, Anbaixiu was there. Snapping his fingers, he wrapped Melina entirely in an illusion, ensuring she could neither see nor hear anything.
Only then did Anbaixiu say to Catherine, "Take my advice: wear a mask whenever you go out from now on. It would be doing passersby a favor."
Catherine paid no attention to that, asking with great excitement, "She's your daughter? Then who is her mother?"
"You've met her. It's the Queen of the Rose from the Underdark," Anbaixiu answered.
Catherine could not help pressing further, "The child is already this big! How long have you two been married? You never told me before?!" Her tone sounded as if she had been deceived, and she looked at him with an aggrieved expression.
Anbaixiu felt his bones softening slightly; no one could endure a look like that.
"Don't do that, it's a misunderstanding. The Queen of the Rose and I don't have any special relationship. We merely collaborated to create an undead, which is Melina. The Queen of the Rose crafted her body, while I wove her soul. So calling her our child isn't wrong, but we are definitely not husband and wife. Don't go getting me dragged back onto Ryan's bounty list."
The Rose of Decay was first on Ryan's wanted list. Anbaixiu had gone through immense trouble to get his name removed from it. If Ryan truly took him for the Rose of Decay's husband, with old grudges and new ones added together, wouldn't he be reinstated straight into second place on the list?
Catherine dropped her pouting look, though she was still somewhat surprised.
"Is that how undead have children? Then whose surname does Melina take?"
"Her mother's, of course. Don't let her silliness fool you—she is Her Royal Highness, Princess of the Underdark."
"It isn't silliness; she's probably just too innocent. The purer and more innocent someone is, the closer they feel drawn to me. She simply isn't used to that feeling, so she mistook it for love."
Catherine adopted the air of an experienced elder in matters of love. Anbaixiu hastily cut her off—he had not come here to chat about such frivolous topics.
"You've read my letter, right? What do the Elven Gods say regarding the divine portfolio?" Anbaixiu asked.
Catherine put away her playful demeanor. When she first received Anbaixiu's letter, she had been thoroughly astounded—that was a divine portfolio!
How long had it been since they last met, and Anbaixiu had already managed to slay a deity? And Lolth the Spider Queen at that!
Every high elf grew up hearing their parents say, "If you don't behave, Lolth the Spider Queen will send spiders to snatch you away!"
That was neither an empty threat nor a fairytale. Children who ran around carelessly really would be captured by drow elves and cruelly sacrificed.
The drow elves were the mortal enemies of the high elves.
Yet Anbaixiu had not only outwitted Lolth the Spider Queen, but had even extracted the crucial Drow Race divine portfolio.
Before meeting Anbaixiu, Catherine would never have believed it, dismissing it as some absurd tale concocted by a bored fool looking for attention.
But Anbaixiu was different. Ever since Catherine had known him, though the lich frequently lied, whenever it came to business, the offers he laid out were things he could genuinely deliver; he never spoke empty words.
Regardless of how it happened, if Anbaixiu claimed to possess the divine portfolio, it was definitely true.
Thus, Catherine had immediately prayed to the Elven Gods, hoping for their response.
And very quickly, Catherine had received an unambiguous reply: it was genuine, and they agreed to the deal, but the terms had to change.
The sign had been so explicit that, compared to past divine oracles, it was almost overly blunt.
Because of that, after reporting the matter to the Elven King, Catherine had rushed to Yun Town without stopping for a moment.
"The deities are willing to trade with you, but the terms must be changed," Catherine told Anbaixiu.
Anbaixiu said, "That doesn't sound like good news."
Catherine looked a bit awkward. It indeed was not good news, but she could only convey the deities' will: "Your first request cannot be granted by the deities. You cannot join the elven pantheon."
Anbaixiu nodded. He had long anticipated that this would be refused.
A lich joining the elven pantheon was indeed rather absurd.
"What about the deities' protection? If they take a divine portfolio from me, they have to offer something in return, don't they?"
"That can be arranged. However, the deities stated they can only resolve the enmity of one deity on your behalf."
"Only one?"
"Yes. After all, what you are offering is only a single divine portfolio."
This news disappointed Anbaixiu greatly. He had offended plenty of deities. Recently, he had swindled Lolth the Spider Queen, and he had snatched the prize right from under Shar's nose. Looking further back, Loviatar, Goddess of Pain, held a mortal grudge against him, not to mention Tiamat, Goddess of Evil Dragons.
That was four already, without even counting his most troublesome adversary, the Lord of the Dawn.
The four evil goddesses combined might not beat the Lord of the Dawn, but even if Anbaixiu had the elves ensure the Lord of the Dawn wouldn't trouble him, the remaining four combined could still crush him to dust.
"The Drow Race divine portfolio holds immense significance for your elven race. Surely it is worth more than that?"
Anbaixiu was not easily swindled. Other divine portfolios could be calculated that way, but the Drow Race portfolio had the potential to end the elves' schism and reunite them into one loving family.
The Elven Gods' offer was bordering on taking advantage of him.
"You are right. However, when enmity forms between deities, it takes countless ages to resolve. For the deities to sever even one such grudge on your behalf comes at an exceedingly high cost."
Anbaixiu said helplessly, "You're showing very little sincerity here. Perhaps I should just gift this divine portfolio to Shar. Presumably, once she receives it, she won't hold me accountable anymore."
Catherine hesitated for a moment, then said, "I knew you wouldn't agree. The deities provided a second proposal: if you can help us reclaim the entire drow elf race, we are willing to resolve the trouble from those four goddesses for you."
Chapter 290